Ace in the Hole

“Rough, tough Chuck Tatum, who battered his way to the top... trampling everything in his path - men, women and morals !”

In rural New Mexico, Charles Tatum (Kirk Douglas) is a cynical reporter fired from the big papers, stuck writing for a small-town daily and waiting for a story to get him back. It comes when a man is trapped in a cave, and Tatum sees how far he can take it. Billy Wilder keeps the camera close and the mood sour, so the whole film feels tightly wound.